Mineralogy

• What is a mineral?

• How do you identify a mineral?

• How would you describe a mineral in your own words?

• What is the difference between a mineral and a rock?

• What does a mineral consist of?

In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.

​How do you identify a mineral?

Minerals can be identified based on a number of properties. The properties most commonly used in identification of a mineral are color, streak, luster, hardness, crystal shape, cleavage, specific gravity and habit.

Differences between rocks and minerals

A mineral is a naturally occurring substance with distinctive chemical and physical properties, composition and atomic structure. Rocks are generally made up of two of more minerals, mixed up through geological processes.

​What do minerals consist of?

a naturally occurring inorganic element or compound having an orderly internal structure and characteristic chemical composition, crystal form, and physical properties.

This is page 6 in the ERST (earth science reference table)for the rock cycle or rocks. it shows you how the rocks form and how to identify igneous rocks. Igneous is the hardest to classify because of how the chart is structured

Rock cycle

This is page 7 in the ERST (earth science reference table). This page shows us the sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and you have to know how to classify all the types of rocks. unlike igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks are classified from side to side.

Rock cycle Pt2.